The film festival coalition's protests are set to continue

Opening ceremony of the Busan International Film Festival (Image: Choi Sung-youl for Cine21)

The Coalition of Domestic Film Festivals (tentatively named) p its support for the withdrawal of the budget reduction for the 2024 film festival support proposed by the Korean Film Council (KOFIC) on September 21st. Following the joint statement issued on September 13th, a total of 56 film festivals, including Busan International Film Festival, Jeonju International Film Festival, and Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, along with 117 organizations and 2,249 individuals (made of 1,114 film industry professionals and 1,135 audience members) participated in the second round of protests.

On September 21st, the Coalition of Domestic Film Festivals (tentative name) presented a second petition calling upon the Korean Film Council's (KOFIC) to reconsider the budget cuts it suggested for its 2024 film festival sponsorship program. Following the release of the joint statement on September 13th, a total of 56 film festivals, including the Busan International Film Festival, the Jeonju International Film Festival, and the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, as well as 117 organizations and 2,249 individuals (made up of 1,114 film industry professionals and 1,135 movie-goers), added their name to the petition.

According to the 2024 budget proposal filed to the National Assembly in September, the funding for KOFIC's domestic and international film festival development assistance program is planned to be decreased to around KRW 2.8 billion, half of the current year's budget. It would also lower the number of local and foreign film festivals that would benefit from it from the current 40 to about 20. Concerns have been made concerning the negative implications of these shifts on film creation, distribution, and cinema culture as a whole.